Presidents Quilt from the collection of San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles

Presidents Quilt, 2002

Cotton

57 x 55 in (144.78 x 139.7 cm)

Signature: The initial "D. V." are stitched on the back

Inv: 2008.393.001

In the Presidents quilt, which contains forty-two blocks, on for each of the chief executives from George Washington to George W. Bush, Vance has made an appliqued portrait or illustration and an embroidered verse.

This quilt consists of 42 appliqué and stitchery panels (one for each president of the U.S.), sewn adjacent to each other in six horizontal rows of seven panels each with a cloth border around the whole, an overall design statement which she was to employ in most of her subsequent quilts. It won Best of Class in the 2004 Marin Quilt & Needle Arts Show, the only juried show that she entered. Starting with this quilt Dorothy made little books by taking the panels to the copy store before stitching them up, making color copies of each panel, and binding the pages into book form: a present for family and friends. A Quilt Book of Presidents had a page of acknowledgments in the back: "Hurrah for Benjamin Franklin's best idea. . . the public library! Thank you, librarians for heading me in the direction of the children's books section - fun -- informing: [followed by a bibliography of four children's books on the Presidents]. A Quilt Book of Presidents contains points of view for which only the author can be held responsible. / Dorothy Vance / 2002”

Techniques: hand pieced, hand appliqued, hand embroidered, tied
Culture: American
Geographic Location: North America, California
Credit Line: Gift of Vance Family Trust

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From San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles

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Additional Details

Additional Artworks

The Creative Mind Quilt, 2006

Odd Couples Quilt, 2006

Fullness, 2005

Call Me Doctor Quilt, 2004

Hexagon Basket Medallion Quilt, c. 1980

Egungun Ceremonial Garment, c. 1980

Hexagon Basket Quilt, c. 1950

Yo-Yo Coverlet, c. 1940